On a Leash: Emancipated
by Moonlight Shadow4
Summary: A collection of one-shots from the AU “On a Leash”—the scenes you didn’t see! The little things you wondered about are here!
1. Quenching the Thirst

_Disclaimer:_ Nope. Still don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: Ok, this is going to be a collection of asides you didn't get to see in "On a Leash" due to time constraints and length. These one-shots will have no particular order, and will moreover be short, but I will always state what chapter(s) time frame they are from and a summary.

This first one takes place when between Chapters Four and Five (_A Canine's Slight Dilemma_ and _A Much Worse Place_).

Summary: Kagome sees firsthand that Inuyasha is smarter than the average dog....

Uploaded: November 16, 2004

_Quenching the Thirst_

Kagome sighed as she entered the house, sliding the front door behind her. "I'm home," she called without enthusiasm. No response followed, so, with a shrug, the girl slipped her loafers off and stowed them in the shoe rack.

She knew Souta was spending the night at Kohaku's, Grampa was probably out playing chess with his elderly friends, and Mama was probably still out grocery shopping.

She was glad it was finally Saturday. School had been a half-day. Even so, that Trig test had just about killed her, Kagome was sure of it. _Forty-five_ questions in half an hour...

Her teacher had to be insane....

Rubbing her temples, she mumbled to no one in particular, "I think I'm gonna have a snack and maybe watch some TV for once." She sighed. "And then I have to take Inuyasha to obedience school tomorrow...." Exhausted, Kagome padded to the kitchen when she stopped in the threshold to watch Inuyasha.

Her dog had stalked into the room, looking—if it were even possible—quite annoyed. He paced back and forth in front of the sink, seemingly in thought. He rose to stand on his hind legs and then placed his forepaws on the metal of the sink.

Kagome simply watched in fascination as one of Inuyasha's paws batted at the flipper-like knobs and a cascade of water rushed out of the facet. Inuyasha's clawed rear paws ticked to and fro as he adjusted his height before stretching his neck out and lapping from the descending fall.

Seemingly satisfied, the dog slowly reversed before dropping back to all fours and trotting out of the kitchen, going right past Kagome. She swore she could hear him say, _"Next time, fill the dish up before you go. I'm not drinking out of the toilet, twit."_

The girl blinked disbelievingly. Kagome was seriously questioning whether Inuyasha needed dog training. Had her dog honestly just turned on the water and drank from it?

She stood quiet in the doorway, pondering.

Now she knew—her dog wasn't stupid, but...

"He didn't even bother to turn the water off!"

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A/N: I told you these were going to be short. I really couldn't find a place for it, but I thought it was funny. Anyway, getting back to Chapter 32...

Moonlight Shadow


	2. Some Light Reading

A/N: Hey, all. I know some of you might be a little confused, so let me say it one more time: this is a one-shot and drabble spot for 'missing' scenes from On a Leash. If you haven't read OaL, then you need to read that before you read these.

This one also takes place during Chapter Five (_A Much Worse Place_).

Summary: If Kagome thought that the first time was just a fluke, she sees that her dog truly is exceptional...or just very, very strange.

Uploaded: December 1, 2004

_Some Light __Reading_

Kagome yawned slightly, stretched out on the couch in the living room. "Now this is what I call leisure... It's the perfect Sunday to kick back and relax." She'd endured her very first dog-training lesson with Inuyasha and that awful Kaeko-woman. (Wasn't Kaeko supposed to be mean 'obedient child' or something like that?). And Kagome used the word 'endured' for a reason: it seemed that Kaeko had been trying to train _her_ rather than Inuyasha. And—excuse the pun—she was dog tired.

But now, she was in the safety of her own little shrine-home with Grampa bumbling about the house, muttering something about someone being "late...very late..." Maybe his latest order of magic charms hadn't arrived yet; if anything was normal about Gramps, he was punctual.

Souta was still at Kohaku's, doing homework together like they did nearly every weekend, and wouldn't be home until late afternoon.

Sighing contentedly, Kagome nibbled on the warm sugar cookie in her hand—Mama had just made a batch and she had been fortunate enough to be the official Taste Tester. The tantalizing scent still teased the air, which added to Kagome's respite.

Even so, there was a really good novel she had just started reading sitting up in her room. It was a wonderful book about dragons, knights, and all manner of curious, magical ventures. Demons or not, the novel was still captivating and continued to surprise her with each supernatural turn of the page.

Getting up, her cookie finished, Kagome toddled up to her room. Going over to her desk, she searched for her book before finding it lying on the floor. "That's weird..." she said to herself, crouching to retrieve the fallen tome, only to notice three others books littering the space around it. She blinked in surprise as she gathered her Trig study guide, her copy of _Macbeth_, and her English textbook.

Kagome glimpsed around the room for a possible culprit. Inuyasha sat near the window, scratching an itch on his neck with hind foot. "Maybe Buyo knocked them off...." For being a cat, Buyo wasn't exactly petite and graceful, so it wouldn't be too far of a stretch.

Shrugging, Kagome set the trio of books on her desk. She paused for a moment, musing whether she should lay on her bed or the mats in her room. Kagome settled with lying on her stomach on the mats. Flipping to the bookmarked page, she began to excitedly read the next chapter of the book.

As the young man was learning to tap into his magical powers, Kagome felt something cold press against her wrist. To her right was Inuyasha with a very pensive look on his mug as he sank to his belly, his odd gold eyes seemingly not leaving the page either.

With a shrug, Kagome went back to her book before quickly turning the page, the excitement rushing through her veins. Then a slightly wet, black snout pushed the page back to the previous one. Kagome only quirked her eyebrow at her dog, muttering, "Weird," before carefully flipping back.

Just as Kagome found her paragraph again, the page was shoved back once again by Inuyasha—this time with his paw.

"Uh, do you mind?" she found herself asking. He rather glared at her so she glared back. "I'm done with that page."

_"And I'm not, wench. Deal with it."_

Kagome waggled her head. _I could've just sworn I heard someone say 'deal with it'..._ With a sigh, she caught Inuyasha glaring at her again. "What? Are you finished _now_, Your Highness?" Inuyasha barked at her and Kagome reached a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. _He's a **dog**, Kagome... He's probably just jealous of the book getting more attention than him..._ Coming to that decision, she went to her original spot and continued to read.

And, when it came time for her to turn to the next page, a furry, white paw inhibited her movements.

Kagome found herself locking gazes with her dog again. "Off," she said, pushing his paw off.

Inuyasha growled and slapped both paws on, gaze narrowing a bit more at her until they went to the book. _"Not my fault you fucking speed-read. Wait your turn."_

She knocked his paws off and turned the page.

He pushed it back and smacked his paws on again.

Paws off, turn the page.

Turn the page, paws on.

**Shove.**

Off, turn.

**Slap.**

Turn, on.

**_Shove._**

Off, turn.

**_Slap._**

Turn, on.

**SHOVE.**

Off, turn.

**SLAP.**

Turn, on.

**_SHOVE!_**

Off, turn.

**_SLAP!_**

Turn, on.

With a sound of defeat, Kagome's hands flew up in the air. "You're impossible, Inuyasha. Sheesh. I'll just read it later when you're not being so weird." She stood up, shoved his paws off once more, and placed it on her desk again before walking out.

_"Hey wait!"_ yelped Inuyasha. _"Now I have to try and get it down again..."_ he trailed off before lifting his hind leg to chafe his neck again. _"Right after I finish scratching..."_

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A/N: Another slightly pointless, but funny, one-shot. The book I was alluding to was Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Excellent book.

Moonlight Shadow


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